A Season of Change
It is always sad to say “goodbye” to summer; however, the U.S. presidential election is keeping things heated. While we didn’t address the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in this issue, we plan to bring you a special digital election insert, so stay tuned!
What we do cover is Austin Bashi’s rise to Mixed Martial Arts fame and Shamama Oram’s 100th birthday. These stories may seem unrelated, but both celebrate a community member who is fulfilling their dream. While Austin’s journey is just beginning, Shamama looks back on a century of life and love (and a family that counts over 100 members) with pride and gratitude.
Then because it is October, we will give you a couple stories about beer. Weam Namou’s review of In the Land of Ninkasi by Tate Paulette celebrates the “Goddess of Beer” and describes how important the beer-making process was to an ancient civilization. In his profile of the Sarafa brothers’ investment in the iconic Frankenmuth Brewery, Paul Natinsky explains how good business sense will sometimes lead one down a path not previously considered.
We have a couple of new contributors this month in Aiden Kanno and Fady Yatooma, who each share a personal story. Aiden recounts his pilgrimage through Italy and the experience of visiting various holy sites. Fady tells us about his childhood in Iraq and his journey to law school. He has learned things along the way that he’s willing to share with aspiring lawyers.
As we have done this whole 20th anniversary year, we look back at the cover stories through the past two decades and wonder at how far we’ve come. Chaldean Digest highlights news from other publications, national and international. This month, we feature stories about Alina Habba, Donald Trump’s lawyer, and her push to acquire the Chaldean vote as well as a story about a newly ordained French priest in the Chaldean Catholic Church who is a husband and father. We also include a story about the Feast of the Cross in Ankawa.
Ankawa appeared in another story this month, as Sterling Heights, Michigan officially became her sister city. Dr. Miri explains what that means in his article “Sister Cities,” and the Foundation Update includes a photo of the signing by Ankawa Mayor Ramy Noori Awdish and Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor.
Our Noteworthy section highlights the talents of Jonathan Elias, the “Pastry Guru,” who once again appears on The Food Network, competing for Team Shriek Squad in the special Halloween Wars. We can’t wait to see what sugar-spun magic he creates this time!
Another Noteworthy mention is Paulina Faranso, who with her cousin, Joe Kakos, purchased Mare Mediterranean and has big plans for rebranding. We await the transformation with much anticipation!
Dr, Miri again graces us with a history and culture lesson in “Shako Mako,” a story about how some words, usually from the Akkadian or Babylonian era, are used only in Iraq. Our newest regular contributor, Dr. Samir Jamil, shares information on “long COVID,” an after-effect of the virus that is still making the rounds.
We also feature an article on Sheetz, convenience store/gas station conglomerate, and their aspirations to spread into southeast Michigan. Our gas station owners and residents have something (actually, a lot of things) to say about that.
One of our newest contributors, Jenna Abroo, writes about Halloween and how traditions have changed over the years; and we share some fantastic photos of harvest time in Iraq in our From the Archive section.
We hope you enjoy this edition with a nice cup of warm chai. Cheers!
Sarah Kittle
Editor in Chief